


Soon, my love

by ConfessionForAnotherTime



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Angst, Canonical Character Death, Denial, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-21
Updated: 2015-02-21
Packaged: 2018-03-14 11:43:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,401
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3409328
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConfessionForAnotherTime/pseuds/ConfessionForAnotherTime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kira asked for a fic about Kal'Reegar's last words.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Soon, my love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KiraMae](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiraMae/gifts).



_“We’re all dead anyway. Just make them pay for it.”_

Shepard stared at the message from the Alliance News Network. So many losses for Rannoch and now, one was close enough that it could affect the performance of her squad. Shepard left her private terminal, Traynor giving her the same sad look she did. She knew what the messages said and while she didn’t understand the significance of the names, she figured that Shepard did. Shepard punched the button on the elevator, heading down to Engineering where she knew she would find Tali. Deft fingers manipulated the holoboard in a way that few others could replicate.

“Tali?” Shepard peeked into the Engineering bay, smiling weakly.

“Hello, Shepard. I’ve been working on improvements for the engine because I noticed a small lag in the system. Just a few mo--”

“Tali, I need to talk to you,” Shepard stated, cutting her off. “Would you mind coming up to my cabin? It’s important.”

Tali cocked her helmet slightly in confusion, turning from the keyboard. She nodded, heading over to the Commander and following her to the elevator. The two of them rode in silence, shifting uncomfortably as the ride seemed to take so much longer than it ever had previously. Shepard led her into the room, heading down the short steps to the sitting area by the bed.

“I just got a transmission.” Shepard face fell as she spoke, remembering the time on Halestrom. “The Alliance News Network just reported the death of the squad that Kal’Reegar was in charge of on Palaven. He held the comm they were repairing until Krogan troops arrived but succombed to his injuries.” Shepard wasn’t sure if she should go on, considering Tali’s face was hard to read due to the helmet. “I know he meant a lot to you after Halestrom but I wante---”

“Shepard stop.” Tali held up a hand. “There’s no way. Even on Halestrom, he had multiple suit breeches but was able to come out of it okay. It has to be a mistake. There’s no way that he would do this and not come back to m--” She stopped, putting a hand over her helmet comm.

“This is why I wanted to tell you first. Tali, I’m so sorry.” Shepard walked forward, arms held out to console the conflicted Quarian, only to be waved off.

“It isn’t possible, Shepard. He just sent me a message a few minutes before you showed up. There’s no way that the information in that message is accurate. I can pull it up right now. It says, _‘On Palaven. We’re close to finishing up on planet. I’ll be home to you soon, my love.’_ It was sent thirty minutes ago. There is no way that the message is correct, Shepard! You’re wrong!” She stood there as Tali stormed out of the room, hitting the door pass a little harder than she needed to. Shepard walked over to the private terminal up the stairs, checking the message that reported his death. It was dated 31 minutes prior. She figured it had to be a delay in communications from the omni-tools but she had no way to be sure.

 

\---

 

Tali checked the thrusters on the shuttle, setting course for Palaven. The reaper invasion hasn’t calmed in that time, but she had to know what had happened to Kal’Reegar in the months since the Alliance News Network reported his alleged death. His messages tended to repeat a little in the last few days, always marking received when she sent off some of her own. She knew he was getting them, so she had to wonder why his responses seemed so canned. Right before she hit the thrusters to head out, the shuttle lurched, not detaching from the ship. The door slid open, Shepard walking through.

“Tali, I can’t let you go to Palaven.” She walked over to the console, powering down the shuttle. “Steve, don’t let this ship out of the hangar.”

“Shepard, you can’t stop me from going to Palaven. He’s still responding to me. He’s still messaging me.” Her voice sounded a little more desperate the longer she spoke. Shepard walked over to her, wrapping her arms around her in the pilot’s chair, hugging her close.

“Tali, there has to be a mistake. You’re sure that your omni-tool didn’t get fried in a recent firefight? There’s no way he’s sending you messages still when he died months ago.”

“I’m not lying!” The Quarian woman pulled up her omni-tool, shoving the commander away. She pulled up a holoscreen, showing her the set of messages from him over their time together. “See! Messages! From him! The most recent one from today. _‘Soon, my love.’_ He’s waiting for me, Shepard. He’s on Palaven without a way to get home and he needs me to come get him. Now stop getting in my way and let me go to him!”

Shepard sighed, shoulders slumping. Who was she to stamp out the hope of a grieving woman?

“Joker?”

“Commander?” The comm cracked a bit as it came over the intercom.

“Set course for Palaven.” She offered her hand to Tali to help lead her out, but she sat and stared at her. Shepard turned, exiting the shuttle. Tali didn’t come out until long after she had headed up to the CIC.

 

\---

 

The ground crunched under their boots as soon as they made contact leaving the shuttle. The course they had charted would mean for a short walk to the communication array that Kal’Reegar had been working on, as there was a base not far from it. The last message he had sent to Tali originated from there. He had seemingly been hunkered down in the bunk from what she could reason, using the supplies and small medical bay that was reported to being still operational inside.

“Tali, what are you going to do when--” Shepard started to ask, following behind the Quarian who was walking much faster than she normally did out on mission.

“I’m going to bring him back with us to reunite him with the Fleet. He’s coming back with us Shepard. So don’t even start with what I’m going to do if he isn’t alive. He is and I’m going to prove it to you.”

Shepard sighed and followed after her. She had no reason to believe anything but the report. The ANN didn’t misreport casualties. Not when it came to this war. Maybe he got mixed up, but it was less likely with no reports of anyone seeing him in the months since the initial email went out.

Approaching the facility, Tali lead the way, opening the door and heading into the array of storage containers. Shepard chuckled softly as it was reminiscent of their early travels when all they had to worry about was Saren and his misguided attempts with Sovereign. Tali followed her omni-tool, heading upstairs to the top of the base.

“See, he’s behind this door. Kal! We’re coming for you,” she called and Shepard winced behind her. This was going to end so poorly and she could do nothing to stop it. The doors slid open. The smell hit Shepard first. With their suits punctured from the bullet wounds, there was nothing to hold in the smell of rotting flesh. Tali gasped, slowly walking over to the chair that held his body, his hand still on the omni-tool that hadn’t shut off. His suit was plugged into the medical array, still powering it. Shepard noted that the omni-tool was also malfunctioning, flickering as his hand touched it.

Tali jumped when a message popped up on her omni-tool, showing up on her heads-up display.

 

To: Tali’zora

 

_Soon, my love._

 

From: Kal’Reegar

 

Shepard rested her hand on Tali’s shoulder, hugging her close when she turned to hug her. She sobbed inside her helmet, not wanting to face the reality behind her.

She soon regained composure and connected her omni-tool to his. She searched for something, anything that told her why the malfunction kept happening so many months after he ceased to be. Instead, she found a final message, still blinking with the cursor. He had to have been writing it when he-- no.

 

To: Tali’zora

 

_I’m sorry, love. I’m not going to make it back to you. Live on. Move on. Don’t dwell on me. I lo_

The cursor blinked as fresh tears hit her eyes. _Keelah Se’lai._

 

 

 

 

 

 


End file.
